The Four Masterworks of the Ming Novel

Ssu ta ch'i-shu

Andrew H. Plaks

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Year: 2025
• Print ISBN:
  9780691273518
  9780691067087
• eBook ISBN:
  9780691273501
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Ancient & Classical Literary Criticism
• Index: Literature

A reinterpretation of some of the great works of Chinese fiction of the late Ming dynasty

In this book, Andrew Plaks reinterprets the great texts of Chinese fiction known as the “Four Masterworks of the Ming Novel” (ssu ta ch'i-shu). Arguing that these are far more than collections of popular narratives, Plaks shows that their fullest critical revisions represent a sophisticated new genre of Chinese prose fiction arising in the late Ming dynasty, especially in the sixteenth century. He then analyzes these radical transformations of prior source materials, which reflect the values and intellectual concerns of the literati of the period.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Reader’s Note
• Chapter 1 The Literati Novel: Historical Background
• Chapter 2 Chin P'ing Mei: Inversion of Self-cultivation
• Chapter 3 Hsi-yu chi: Transcendence of Emptiness
• Chapter 4 Shui-hu chuan: Deflation of Heroism
• Chapter 5 San-kuo chih yen-i: Limitations of Valor
• Chapter 6 Neo-Confucian Interpretations of the Four Masterworks
• Appendix The "Li Cho-wu" Commentary Editions
• Bibliography
• Index